‘America’s Got Talent': Emily West swings from the chandeliers

Cue the Rockettes, put Nick Cannon in his ruby slippers, we’re finally in Radio City Music Hall and about to hand over the steering wheel of this competition to America. 12 of the 48 acts perform live for the first time, and tonight 6 of those 12 will be sent packing. Though voting began last night after the acts performed, America’s Got Talent has added a save feature this season in which during tonight’s episode, viewers can save an act in danger by Googling “Snapple Save” or “America’s Got Talent Save” and then voting. As long as those viewers are in the Eastern or Central time zones. Sorry, Pacific coast.

(NBC)

SEAN & LUKE, Tap Dancers

This tap dancing duo could have been the best thing on last night’s show, but I’ll never know as I couldn’t see anything they were doing thanks to the spectacularly bad lighting of their act. Strobe lights seem to be aimed directly at the camera, completely obscuring the act itself. I wish I could have had something more constructive to say about Sean and Luke’s performance, but I have to go take some Advil and have a lie down.

Heidi thinks they put on a great show and that it was fun; Howard thinks it was “nice” but unmemorable; Mel B. thinks it was a great way to open America’s Got Talent on the Radio City Music Hall stage; Howie thinks it was youthful, classic and energetic.

VALO AND BOBBY, Balancing Act

This married Bulgarian circus act ups their audition performance by strapping Valo into a bicycle inside ring on top of a long pole that Bobby balances on his forehead. It is completely crazypants and terrifying to watch. The AGT lawyers must have been having fits.

Howie worries how it translates on camera, and notes that the producers worry that their act is too dangerous to do; Howard thinks they know how to fill up a stage and that they are a fabulous act; Heidi was holding her breath and very scared; Mel B. calls it awful in a good way and terrifying.

JULIA GOODWIN, Singer

The 16-year-old singer takes on Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” a song by a band that I loathe, and manages to convince me to like the song. Her performance is soft, fragile even, and to my ear, lovely.

However, the judges appear to have heard a completely different song:

Howard thinks she has a lot of poise but worries that her voice doesn’t always hold up; Heidi says that she is amazing; Mel B. notes that her voice is delicate but is concerned that she didn’t give it all she had; Howie thought that the performance was a Broadway performance and that she is in the right city, wrong building.

BAILE CONMIGO, Dance Group

I would very much like to sit down with the lighting crew and discuss other career paths for them. While the lighting during Baile Conmigo’s performance was not nearly as seizure-inducing as Sean & Luke’s, it was still plenty distracting, taking away from our enjoyment of Baile Conmigo’s fast and furious act. Still, what I could see of it, they were terrific: frenzied and gymnastic and perfectly in step.

Heidi says they brought the house down; Mel B. finds the energy exciting and declares them her favorite; Howie calls them amazing and spectacular; Howie declares them a big party taking place on stage and says that America will love them.

DAVID & LEEMAN, Magicians

David & Leeman’s magic act involves Twitter, the judges’ books, small pieces of paper and name tags. And it would have been great, had Howie, instructed to chose any word he wanted from a scrap of paper, hadn’t chosen the wrong word and had to be redirected by the magicians to choose the longest word on the page, thereby making the whole reveal stumble just a little. So close, guys, you were thisclose to knocking this one out of the park.

Mel B. says this is how magic is supposed to be and calls it genius; Howie is baffled; Howard warns them not to lose the audience but adds that it was a fabulous trick; Heidi preferred their last act and thought their presentation was muddy tonight.

THE WILLIS CLAN, Musical Group

The 12 adorable siblings perform a watered-down, dare I say it, boring rendition of “The Power of Love.” The family has a great act, but this was not the performance that is going to move them down the road towards a million dollars, I’m afraid.

Howard likes what they do because there are no other families doing this sort of act, but calls this not their strongest performance; Howie liked their song choice and thinks they should be in Branson; Heidi thinks they could go straight from here to the Grand Ol’ Opry; Mel B. loves what they stand for but thinks that Radio City Music Hall swallowed them up.

FLIGHT CREW JUMP ROPE, Jump Rope Act

The acrobatic jump roping team jump ropes, acrobatically. The act begins rather wanly with yet more questionable lighting choices, but about 1/3 of the way through, the team incorporate a trampoline and it becomes vastly more interesting. Though I noticed a misstep here and there, overall, the tricks were impressive.

Howard reminds us that anything can go wrong with a precision act and claims that nothing went wrong (he is mistaken) and it was perfection; Heidi loved it and thought they were on time; Mel B. calls it “off the chain”; Howie loved that they stepped it up for the big show.

JASMINE FLOWERS, Dance Group

NOW WITH MORE UMBRELLAS!

Look, I like the Asian ballet troupe as much as the next person — what they do with their synchronization is stunning — but I was struck during this performance that what they do is essentially a very pretty version of The Wave. It was fine.

Heidi describes their act as a “kalediscape” (not actually a word) come to life; Mel B. finds their act very pretty but worries they are an acquired taste; Howie finds them amazing and beautiful to watch; Howard didn’t love this routine as much as their previous routines.

EMILY WEST, Singer

Emily, dressed a bit like 1950s torch singer as imagined by Marilyn Monroe, comes out, sings “Chandelier” by Sia, and SLAYS IT. She’s so powerful that the audience begins applauding her IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SONG. If she keeps this up, if she keeps singing this monstrously well, I don’t think there is anyone else in the competition that can beat her.

Mel B. says that Emily hit it in every which way possible and made the song her own, adding “WOWZA!”; Howie calls it the best act of the night so far; Howard says that she is the reason why he became a judge on America’s Got Talent; Heidi calls her a star and the total package.

J.D. ANDERSON, Strong Man

J.D., this season’s number one candidate for a life-altering concussion, breaks bats over his head, breaks wood? concrete? boards that are aflame with his face and hands, and then slams himself, again, into a giant column of ice. I’m more than a little concerned about J.D.’s ability to make good decisions in life.

Howard calls him a superstar and notes that he is glad that he repeated the ice trick; Mel B. worries about his safety but loves that he put on a proper show; Howie is amazed by J.D.; Heidi calls him nutty to do it and compares him to the Tasmanian Devil.

DAN NATURMAN, Comedian

Look, 90-seconds is just not very long for a comedy set, and I recognize that the comedians are at a disadvantage in this competition. Dan does fine, but seems a little hamstrung by having such little time to perform. The act starts off strong with some great jokes comparing children and Ikea furniture, but soon tapers off with an unmemorable finish.

Mel B. didn’t want him to stop; Heidi found it uneven, but ultimately calls him funny; Howie tells him he is on his way to a brand new TV; Howard says that Dan’s 20 years in the comedy business shows and calls him funny as Hell.

MIGUEL DAKOTA, Singer

The doe-eyed singer tackles the Beatles’ “Come Together” with an assist from a backup band, and it’s OK! But it’s just OK. He seems nervous, and it’s not his best performance, but it is strong enough to move forward in the competition. Let’s hope he gains some confidence before he returns to the stage.

Heidi thinks he was smart singing a beloved Beatles song and liked the change in style; Mel B. calls it one hot performance; Howie says that he is a superstar; Howard thought the performance lacked charisma, but suspects he will move forward on account of his dreaminess.

Here is my best guess as to how America will vote:

Emily West

Miguel Dakota

Baile Conmigo

Valo & Bobby

Dan Naturman

David & Leeman

J.D. Anderson

Julia Goodwin

Flight Crew Jump Rope

The Willis Clan

Sean & Luke

Jasmine Flowers

Who do you think will proceed to the next round?

Which acts will move on to the next rounds on America's Got Talent? (Pick 5)